In hauling containers for transporting scrap, waste, environmentally hazardous materials, recycling and the like, it is common to employ roll-off trailers. With such a trailer, a portion of the structure remains horizontally aligned and connected to the axles and cab or a tractor by way of a king-pin assembly, whereas the second portion of the structure pivots upwardly from their rearward joint, enabling the containers to be pulled up and onto the trailer from the ground, transported, unloaded and/or dumped. To facilitate the unloading procedure, the lift frame is again raised up, enabling the container(s) to roll-off and back on to the ground, hence the term “roll-off.” Units of this type may or may not have a separate frame under the lift frame.
There are many different types and styles of roll-off trailers in service today, depending upon the application at hand. For light-duty applications, a single-container trailer or “one-box” design may be sufficient, and may employ only a few axles. Such a configuration would be suited, for example, to the short-distance hauling or smaller roll-off style containers. For longer distances, a two-box design may be more appropriate, whereas, for very heavy loads, multi-axle trailers are employed.
Despite the popularity of one-box trailers, they tend to be relatively long and difficult to maneuver in certain situations. Thus, the need remains for a roll-off trailer that is short and maneuverable, ideally as maneuverable as a roll-off truck, which is typically short; i.e., under 40 feet.